Beginnings
by eliycsha
Summary: Request of a fic of Jill and Eddie and their first proper meeting at the Royal Court by Anon on Tumblr. This may become a series depending on the feedback I get. Set between Last Sacrifice and Bloodlines.
1. Chapter 1

It had been a mad rush of days since her shocking reveal of who she really was to the Moroi world and Jill's head was still spinning from it all. She was Moroi Princess. Eric Dragomir was her biological father. Vasilisa Dragomir, the soon to be crowned Queen of Moroi was her sister. It was still so much to take in and absorb and she'd barely had a moment to herself.

Being constantly surrounded by people was starting to get to her. Jill was far from used to receiving such attention and finally when she thought she had a moment to herself, she quietly slipped from the room where the others were in search for a quiet place to just breathe and collect herself properly.

Sitting in a small corner outside, Jill started up at the sky that was slowly starting to lighten with the 'morning' lightly. It was getting late now on their schedule and she had been kept busy all day with trying to organise everything with the up-coming coronation. Dresses, rules, traditions; everything was told to her over and over about what she had to do and that she had to do it properly without error. It was her that was to crown Lissa and finalise her place as Queen and with the dress she was to wear and the stress of it all, Jill kept thinking she was going to fall flat on her face and ruin the entire event and embarrass not just herself but the Dragomir name for all to witness.

"Princess?"

A voice had snapped her out of her thoughts and she sat up a little startled before she spotted the tall blonde Dhampir standing not far from where she was. Of course she was followed out here, she didn't have great skills to get past all of the guardian's that were around the court. She didn't personally know this guardian but she did know who he was, he was a friend of Rose's.

"Sorry to startle you, I just wanted to check that everything was okay. I spotted you sneaking from the room."

Jill slumped in her seat a little, probably looking completely awkward with her tall lanky limbs. "You're Eddie right? Rose's friend?" she sighed. "They're just going on and on in there, I needed to get out of there before my head exploded."

"Guardian Eddie Castile." He responded with a slight nod and stepped a little closer. "And yes, I have been friends with Rose for most our lives. Is there anything I can get for you Princess?"

"Please, call me Jill. I'm really not a princess." She bit at her lip and ran her fingers through her long curly locks. "I'm doing this for Lissa, because it's the right thing to do — But really, I'm not a Princess. I just know that she can do good for us, I've listened to her talking about things she thinks could be good for our world and Christian has told me other things and she really will be an amazing queen. What — What if I fall over when I go to put the crown on her and ruin everything? Or I just completely freeze up and stand there like an idiot. Lissa will hate me forever if I ruin this day."

She was rambling at this point and Eddie let out a slight chuckle and stepped forward so he was in front of her, crouching down a little so he could speak properly to her.

"Lissa will not hate you for anything and I think that no matter what happen, the Coronation will go perfectly without a hitch. But with or without accepting the title or not, you are a Princess and you are the daughter of Eric Dragomir. It took a lot of guts to stand up there and declare who you were and I think if you can do that, you can do anything you set your mind too."

Jill smiled a little at that, though she was still a little frazzled, his words had calmed her.

"You're pretty good at making people feel better. Have any advice on how to survive the hurricane of everything that happens before the big event without me wanting to pelt water balls at everyone?"


	2. Chapter 2

The Coronation had arrived and Jill was sitting in her room at the Royal Court and everything was buzzing around her. He long crazy curly locks were now being styled carefully into a pre-determined style that would complement the dress she had no choice but to wear. The only thing she had a choice of was that she would get to wear flats. Being taller than the average moroi was bad enough without adding heels to the matter, and well Jill was not the most co-ordinated of people.

To say she was stressed was an understatement, though she knew that Lissa — her sister — would be freaking out even more than she was. But she couldn't think about that right now, she had to remember everything that she had to do today — she couldn't screw it up. The details down to every step she had to take had been drilled into her day after day, driving her to the point of going crazy each time someone brought it up. She was a simple girl that grew up in Michigan and went the Academy, she wasn't Princess Material. Doing the right thing for others forced her to take that title though; Lissa needed her because the Moroi world needed her as queen.

Telling this all to any of the people around her was not an option though. Her mother was worrying enough and her step father would rather drag her back home and forget any of this happened. Neither of them were happy about Jill accepting her title, but they both supported her and would stick with her though it all. Keeping quiet about it all kept them from worrying.

If she spoke with Rose, she would tell Lissa and she had enough to worry about too, this was her big day and nothing could go wrong. Adrian was always around but Jill could barely form a proper sentence around him, let alone tell him her worries. Christian, well he would listen and she could tell him anything but he was trying to stop Lissa from freaking out so he was otherwise occupied.

The one person that seemed to be there for her during all this time was her new friend, the one person that spotted her escaping from the meeting room only days before. Since then Eddie had become someone she could talk to and vent about what she needed to before it all built up and became too much.

He'd even managed to score a deal with the others that during their break times that he would be able to escort her outside to get some fresh air and clear her mind, those were the moments she was starting to crave right now as she looked around the room and spotted him in the refection on her mirror and she gave him a look that screamed out that she needed out of here.

"I can't break you free today, Princess." He spoke lightly, though Jill could see that he would do it in an instant to help her out. He was a loyal person and Jill could see that even when he escorted her outside, he would keep his eyes vigilant and his stance always ready to spring into action within a second. She knew he would be an amazing guardian for whoever would be lucky to get him one day.

"Fine, but is it possible to break free for just a minute before we all go over to the coronation? You know to make sure my head is clear and I remember everything?"

He smiled and nodded at her. "I'll make sure it happens. Just remember to keep breathing over there or else you'll pass out in your seat."

It seemed like forever that she had been getting done up with the makeup and everything else and finally she was able to get into the dress that was set out for her. The Emerald silk seemed to make her skin glow even more and the style of the dress complimented the hairstyle so well. Looking at her reflection in the mirror as her mother zipped up the back, Jill could bare recognise herself.

_Is this what I will be like from now on? Will I lose who I am so I can be who they want? Will it be enough for Lissa?_

She shook it off and stepped out of the bedroom that now only had her and her mother in there. Out in the adjacent room were her step-father and Eddie waiting for her. Both men looking over at her wide eyed and surprised as she stood there, feeling awkward and overdressed. She recognised the look from John Mastrano, it was one of love and adoration, one of a father seeing his beautiful daughter. But the look that Eddie was giving her was not one she recognised and she blushed a little.

"You can both stop with the staring, I know I look weird."

Both Eddie and John both smiled and looked away.

"You look beautiful sweetie." Said John as he walked over to his wife, sliding his arm around her waist.

"I have it cleared I can escort you to the throne room with a small divert to allow you to clear your mind if you still want to Princess. Your parents can meet us over there." Eddie spoke as he stood up, presenting himself as the stoic guardian that she knew he was.

It was only minutes later that the two of them were outside and she carefully sat down in the bench seat that was now becoming her regular spot. Her eyes were closed and she tilt her head back, taking a deep breath.

"Feeling better?"

She didn't need to open her eyes to know he was standing close by, no doubt keeping his eyes on their surroundings. They were safe here in the court but there were still people that were not happy about the situation.

"I'll be happy once it's over and I can work on sorting out other things."

"You mean things between you and Lissa?"

"Is it that obvious? I just — I don't know what she want's from me other than this and I haven't really had a chance to think about it all properly either."

She heard movement around her before she felt the warm hand on her arm, making her jump a little and her eyes open quickly. His hand pulled back quickly and he gave an apologetic look.

"Things will work out Princess, I promise. But we need you to get through today without passing out up there when you go to place the crown on her head. She needs time and I think you need some of that too so you know how you feel about it all before you go blurting everything out to her."

Smiling up at him she shook from her seat and gave him a quick friendly hug, being careful not to mess up her hair before she stepped back.

"You still know how to say the right thing to me, though we still have to work on the whole Princess thing. You keep that up and you're Guardian Castile for good." She giggled.

"I think I can do this now. Let's go before I change my mind and go hide out in one of the millions of gardens around here so no one can find me."


End file.
